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Residents in several areas of Mango experienced a severe disruption in their drinking water supply on Sunday morning, just as the festive season, including Diwali, is underway. This outage has sparked significant public anger and frustration. Upon receiving news of the water crisis, MLA Saryu Roy of Jamshedpur West immediately visited the intake well of the Mango Water Supply Project. He also inspected the water tank at Prithvi Park and dispatched his team to the water treatment plant, the central hub for distributing water to various local reservoirs.
Following his on-site assessment, Mr. Roy concluded that the disruption was a direct result of negligence by both the project officials and the contracted company responsible for its operation. He announced his intention to file a charge sheet against the Executive Engineer of the water supply department after the Diwali and Chhath holidays, demanding government action for dereliction of duty. Furthermore, he plans to recommend that the contractor for the Mango Water Supply Project be blacklisted.
Investigations at the intake well revealed significant sand accumulation, indicating a long-standing lack of maintenance. Mr. Roy promptly instructed the Deputy Municipal Commissioner of Mango Nagar Nigam to initiate cleaning operations. Once the sand was cleared, the water flow normalized. His subsequent visit to the Prithvi Park water tank, where staff reported inconsistent water delivery from the treatment plant, highlighted further issues. Employees stated that the tank receives water only two to three days a week from the contractor, with officials from the Drinking Water and Sanitation Department also displaying a lack of oversight.
Further inspection of the water treatment plant uncovered blatant favoritism in water distribution. Employees contracted by the company were found to be unfairly prioritizing certain areas, leaving others, particularly those with higher demand during festivals, with insufficient supply. When questioned, the contractor claimed this practice was a long-standing ‘order from above,’ which he couldn’t alter. However, the Executive Engineer denied any such directive, pointing to a potential conspiracy between the contractor and departmental officials. Mr. Roy has urged the Deputy Municipal Commissioner to investigate these irregularities and initiate action against all responsible parties to prevent future public inconvenience during crucial festive periods.
